Gas leak evacuates Coal Valley neighborhood

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

WQAD Photo

Gas leak evacuates Coal Valley neighborhood

WQAD Photo

Emergency workers said they evacuated a neighborhood in Coal Valley, Illinois after a three-inch gas line was apparently struck by construction equipment.

The incident started just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 8, 2012. Initial reports indicated the gas main was ruptured at the same location where a new road is under construction in the 1900 block of Sixth Street.

A strong odor of natural gas was reported in the area. Emergency workers were going door-to-door to evacuate residents in homes in the immediate area of the gas leak. Residents from Fifth to Seventh streets, 19th to 22nd Avenues were evacuated.

Emergency workers on scene said capping the leak was difficult because there was no valve in the immediate area of the break. That means workers would have to dig at the location of a valve to stop natural gas feeding into the broken line.

The leak was reportedly capped just after 10:30 a.m.

Crews were also made aware of a reported controlled brush fire working near Highway 150, south of the gas leak location.